An online community for Cooperative Baptists

Menu

Lessons learned in community: A CBF Fellows reflection

I remember the first day in the office at my first call. I met the other staff, connected to the WiFi network, and learned where to make copies. They showed me to my desk, handed me a set of keys, and then everyone left.

…What do I do now?

I was called to be the Minister to Youth. I thought I knew what that looked like on a Sunday morning, but I had no idea what a Tuesday afternoon looked like.

There was plenty to get done, but I honestly had no idea where to start. Like many first-call ministers, I was learning to fly the plane while in the air. Luckily, I was encouraged to apply for the CBF Fellows program, and I am forever grateful that I did.

From our very first meeting in Decatur, Ga., in August of 2016 to our closing session in Dallas at the 2018 General Assembly, these ministers have become family. Together we’ve celebrated career successes, weddings, new pets, new homes and sales at Old Navy.
We’ve teared up at lost opportunities, family turmoil, difficulties at church and moments where our hearts were broken. We’ve buried loved ones, we’ve watched each other’s pets and we’ve welcomed new babies.

We knew that our cohort had an expiration date, but I couldn’t imagine how much we would grow together in two years.

As we close out our time together, we’ve reviewed how we’ve grown in stance, style, strategy and setting. We’ve offered closure and blessings in our closing capstone projects. Through tears and laughter, we’ve heard person after person share that, “I might not have made it in ministry without y’all.”

CBF Fellows has helped me to transition to a new call and context. Most of all, this cohort and faculty has given guidance and assistance, and we’ve prayed for each other. CBF Fellows has offered words of caution and encouragement. Fellows has helped me to make sense of the past, embrace the present and plan for the future.

While this cohort will formally come to a close, I am confident that I’d pick up the phone for any of the Fellows, and they would do the same for me. The lessons that we’ve learned will help us immeasurably in the future.

Ben Brown serves as the Minister to Students at Second Baptist Church in Richmond, Va. The 2016-18 cohort of the CBF Fellows program will conclude their time together during the 2018 General Assembly in Dallas, and a new cohort of first-call ministers will begin their journey together this fall.